An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Malz
Malz, n., ‘malt,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. malz, n.; comp. OSax. and OIc. malt, n., AS. mealt, E. malt (Goth. *malt, n.); a common Teut. word for ‘malt,’ which passed into Slav. and Finn. (comp. OSlov. mlato, Finn. mallas), and also into Fr. as malt. Teut. *maltas belongs to a Teut. root melt, in AS. mëltan, ‘to dissolve, liquefy, melt,’ to which is allied an OIc. adj. maltr, ‘rotten,’ similar to OHG. and MidHG. malz, ‘melting away, soft, relaxed.’ Perhaps the subst. Malz (Goth. *malt, n.) is only the neu. of this adj., meaning ‘that which is soft.’ See further schmelzen.